Most companies prefer not to see their products shot down in flames-but
Meggitt is happy for them disappear in a cloud of shrapnel, so
long as the customer is happy too.
In the esoteric and often overlooked world of aerial targets Meggitt's
name is well known. Its family of Banshee powered targets and
TLX towed targets have been proven in service around the world
for many years. Both systems have been refined and improved in
recent times, but now Meggitt is moving out of the lower end of
the targets market with its all-new Voodoo drone, offering Club
Class service at Ryanair prices.
The Voodoo is a breakthrough product for Meggitt and the targets
world in general. The sleek V-tailed, prop-powered creation has
been designed to operate in a flight regime that is usually reserved
for far more expensive rocket-boosted, jet-powered drones. Thanks
to a purpose-built three-cylinder piston engine (a derivative
of the Triumph Hornet motorcycle engine developed by Formula One
engineering supremos Ilmore), the Voodoo promises 300 kts performance
for a price tag of just $120,000.
Meggitt estimates that most of the world's jet targets spend about
80% of their working lives operating around the 300 kts mark.
Not only does the Voodoo promise an ultimate performance of 330
to 350 kts, at its design cruise speed of 300 kts it has a two-
to three-hour endurance that makes it a fantastically useful target.
Workhorse 'top end' systems like the Mirach or the MQM-107 typically
cost around $400,000 to buy, and each JATO launch will cost the
user another $25,000. Yet these jets have a normal endurance of
only about 45 minutes, which is not a lot of time when things
aren't going to plan out on the range.
Meggitt says it has 12 prospective customers for the Voodoo, all
of whom will attend a system demonstration to be held at Mojave,
California, at the end of June. The Voodoo has already conducted
significant test activity in the UK and at Mojave, where it has
demonstrated speeds in excess of 270 kts and operating altitudes
from 200 ft to 9,000 ft.
One customer has agreed to sign a purchase agreement as soon as
the Voodoo demonstrates 300 kts flight. Although the company will
not comment, reports have associated Taiwan most closely with
the program. All Meggitt will say is that nine of its potential
Voodoo customers are existing operators of the Banshee. Banshees
are currently in service with Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany,
Holland, Malaysia, Japan, Spain and Thailand.
The Voodoo development cycle is due to be completed by the end
of this year, with the first delivery coming at the same time.
Meggitt foresees a potential market of around $350 million for
all its target systems, but only 10% of that will be found in
the low-performance sector that was once so important to the company.
Meggitt has no ambitions to get into the much-vaunted world of UAVs, despite
all its relevant experience. Says managing director Terry Timms,
"There's no money in UAVs. Everyone is spending it (developing
UAVs) for sure, but no one is making any. There will no money to
be made from any UAVs until the volume programs come on line, and
then it will be the sole preserve of about three big contractors."
